In 1951, the first time the University of Connecticut’s basketball team played in Madison Square Garden, more than 3,000 students went to the game on a special train chartered to take them from nearby Willimantic to New York.Last Friday, when UConn played again in the legendary sports arena, there was also a special train, announced by none other than Gov. Dannel Malloy, but it went from not quite nearby New Haven and it was primarily for the convenience of fans who could pay for the $489 to $4,740 seats. Those who could pay $12,500 a ticket for club sideline seats probably flew in on gossamer wings. But the students were not forgotten — completely. A special lottery was held for them and 200 students won the right pay $150 to $200 to see their college team play in the Garden’s legendary nosebleed seats, convenient to the rafters. The mention of the train for 3,000 Storrs residents from Willimantic is a reminder that college basketball and football were once meant primarily for students to watch fellow students play other students. While all this transportation and ticketing news was being reported in the east, a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago ruled that Northwestern University football players are employees of the university and therefore have the right to form a union and bargain collectively for pay and other benefits.Imagine that. Young men who spend 50 hours a week or more practicing and playing a sport in return for tuition and room and board, awarded for their athletic, not their academic skills, are employees of the university. Or, if you want to imagine that closer to home, students who perform before an audience willing to pay $450 or $4,750 or $12,500 to watch them play basketball for 40 minutes, plus time outs, should be paid for their work.This was a ruling by one NLRB official and it will be exhaustively appealed by the university and the college sports governing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA is the inventor of the term, “student athletes” for the players who make up the minor leagues for professional basketball and football.u u uAs college basketball and football grew into a $16 billion industry, there has been growing sentiment for paying those who do most of the work. The NCAA amusingly insists that these players are amply rewarded with scholarships worth upwards of $40,000 a year and are only too delighted to play for the honor of alma mater, even though many leave for the pros as soon as they are legally able.That 1951 game in the Garden, which UConn lost to St. John’s, marked the university’s first sojourn into what The Hartford Courant called “big time basketball,” the NCAA Tournament. In those days, UConn’s football and basketball teams played mostly New England teams in what was known as the Yankee Conference and their longest trips were to communities like Orono, Maine — by bus.The home games were played at home, of all places. The basketball games were in an old fashioned, ramshackle field house — there was no Gampel Pavilion then and no arena in Hartford — and the football games were in a stadium at a place called the campus. This primitive arrangement did not survive the 20th century and now, home basketball games are divided between the campus and Hartford and for the football team, home is East Hartford.u u uEven with three NCAA championships in the past 15 years, UConn basketball hasn’t exactly been a financial success either. Data from the U.S. Department of Education for the five-year period ending in 2010, very successful years for the basketball program, shows an aggregate profit of $4.6 million, compared to rivals like Louisville, at $94 million, Syracuse, $46 million and Pittsburgh, $27.5 million. Forbes Magazine said this was caused by not having a definitive home base and playing in two small arenas, Gampel in Storrs and the XL Arena in Hartford.There was also some news last week for the non-athlete students, who do stay on to graduate. Their tuition was increased 6.5 percent by the deficit-ridden university that has seen its state aid cut. Unlike the special train to the Garden, this was not announced by Governor Malloy.Simsbury resident Dick Ahles is a retired journalist. Email him at dahles@hotmail.com.
Latest News
One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
